A trio going by the name of Pedro Hasty Leaf (PHL, for short) earned the "yes" of the judges for their unique rendition of the rap anthem "Mga Kababayan Ko" during the Pilipinas Got Talent episode (Season 7, Week 2) on April 6.

As lead singer Pedro sang the song's first few lines, Leaf appeared behind the audience to continue singing in beatbox style, followed by rapper Hasty. It was a pleasant surprise for the judges, who thought they were dealing only with one artist.

Gen Z judge Donny Pangilinan described the performance at the end of their numbers as "Ang angas!" (badass)." Kathryn Bernardo replied, "Nag-enjoy kami. Good call."

Meanwhile, Freddie "FMG" Garcia commented: "The rapping is good. It's very Filipino." Comedian Eugene Domingo agreed: "I like the choice of the song. Pinoy na Pinoy."  

"Kilig to the bones," Eugene added as she and Pedro engaged in friendly banter about her "being more beautiful than the evening." Their exchange sent some members of the audience giggling.

Earlier, Pedro introduced the panel to how the group had formed. "Ang una ko naging kaibigan si Leaf. Through the years, talagang nagkakasundo kami sa music. Na kahit kumanta ako ng isa, sasabayan niya ako bigla on the spot, matatapos namin na parang nag-practice lang kami. (Leaf was actually the first friend I made. Over the years, we've just really clicked on music. Even if I randomly start singing, he’ll jump right in on the spot, and we’ll finish the whole thing like we’d practiced it.)

"And then, I met Hasty," Pedro continued. "Magkapit-condo kami. Tapos, nagjam lang kami. And then, nirecord na namin yung audition video namin dito. Actually, akala ko po ako lang po yung sasali dito. But, nung pinagsama-sama ko sila, ayun po, naging mas maganda kasi..... parang ano, two heads are better than one. Mas maganda kung tatlo. (We live in the same condo. Then we just started jamming together, and eventually, we ended up recording our audition video right here. Honestly, I thought I was going to join this competition alone. But it turned out so much better when I brought them together — like they say, two heads are better than one. And even better if there are three!")

There's one thing in common between the three of them, and that's that they're all singing veterans. When he was 19, Pedro was the front act of Vice Ganda's concert at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Now 34, he's an ad agency creative director. On the other hand, Leaf used to compete in international beatbox competitions in Singapore and South Korea. Hasty, who works for a BPO company, is also no stranger to rap contests. He said he got into rapping as a form of therapy because he was trying to battle depression.

Win or lose, ABStar Talent Management, which is handling PHL, only has big plans for the group. According to their manager, Otek Lopez, one of the plans is for them to go international and compete in contests like "America's Got Talent."

At present, Pedro Hasty Leaf is confident that they have what it takes to prepare and plan for the next round of the PGT competition, which boasts a P2 million prize for the grand winner.

PHL thanked the other companies and individuals who supported them, in addition to their talent manager. They are stylist/designer Jovan Dela Cruz, Dr. Charlie Mendez of DermaWorld, Janette Lim Yu, Mary Pauline Salon, Francis Henry Premium Steaks, Lifestyle Gourmet, BlackAnt Lensman, and J&H Longganisa atbp.